Perfumes have been an integral part of the culture for centuries now, and perfume has managed to evolve a lot over time, with them being manufactured by hand in the older days while they are manufactured by machine now. The makeup of a fragrance tends to remain the same, however, with the use of notes being described to showcase how a perfume can be smelled and what ingredients it might contain. Our article aims to break down what kind of notes can be found in a perfume, and how to identify them, and what perfumes are basically made of.
Perfume Families And Their Types
First things first, before you can figure out what kind of notes you can find in The makeup of a fragrance, you need to see what kind of fragrance families are available to people, ranging from oriental, woody, floral or citrus scents.
Floral Scents
One of the first scents included floral scents, which are designed to be easier to smell and easier on the nose.
These will typically include floral scents. They are very bright, refreshing and breezy. They are typically correlated to flowers, such as roses or even jasmine flowers, with rose being the most popular scent.
Oriental Scents
Moving on, another kind of interesting scent that you can come across more often than not is called the Oriental scent, mostly being present in base notes. These scents include exotic aromas, are very controversial, and can be smelled from quite a bit away as they are approaching you.
The most popular oriental notes or scents are musky, and vanilla scents also fall into the oriental family.
Citrus Scents
Another important family that can't be ignored is citrus scents. The best way to describe citrus scents is to explain the feeling. Imagine you smell an orange or taste a lemon. What do you feel? Most people in the presence of such citrusy scents or tastes are instantly refreshed and left feeling more awake than they were before, and the same can be said for citrus scents.
Citrus fragrances and scents are typically found in the top notes of a perfume, due to they high evaporative nature. The most popular scents in these notes include bergamot or lemon, and they are very easy to distinguish.
Woody Scents
Last but not least, trying to fit the woody scent into one category would be quite difficult. The main way to describe the aroma is by simply describing it as an "earthy" experience anytime someone applies a woody perfume.
Woody scents are earthy, warm, and grounding. The most popular scents in this family include Sandalwood and Cedarwood, which are sold worldwide.
Types Of Notes And How To Identify Them
There are three different types of notes in a fragrance: top notes, middle notes, and base notes. These three notes vary greatly from perfume to perfume, and there is a certain way to identify each one properly.
Top Notes
When it comes to top notes, they are typically the notes that can be smelled the second you apply a fragrance. The scent that you smell instantly after the perfume hits your skin is the top note, and it is probably the lightest note of them all.
These notes evaporate easily and are then replaced by the middle or base notes. The top notes have significantly higher volatility than the other two options.
Middle Notes
Now, the middle notes basically consist of notes that can be smelled anytime the top notes tend to evaporate. Middle notes also tend to last for longer periods and can make you smell really good all day long.
Base Notes
Last but not least, base notes include the notes that can be smelled and last the longest. These notes are in direct contact with your skin anytime a perfume has been applied, and they can last all day.
The base notes tend to focus more on heavier scents that can be recognised from a few feet away as the person is walking towards you. These notes tend to include muskier scents that stay on your skin for longer.
Conclusion
It can be quite difficult to decipher The makeup of a fragrance, especially with the three different notes. Therefore, it is important to take note of them at the correct time, and see which ones make up a perfume properly.
